Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2024 - PLAN 404 D100

Indigenous Planning and Stewardship (4)

Class Number: 7440

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 4 – Oct 11, 2024: Tue, Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

    Oct 16 – Dec 3, 2024: Tue, Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    PLAN 100 or PLAN 200; REM 207 or any INDG course; and 75 units. Recommended: REM 319 or PLAN 319.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines the historical and contemporary role planning plays in the dispossession of land, while introducing Indigenous perspectives and understandings of place and the responsibility of environmental stewardship. Explores settler-colonialism, property and Indigenous land relations, co-management and collaborative stewardship, while presenting alternative planning frameworks to inform community-engaged practice. Students with credit for REM 404 or REM 406 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

The purpose of this course is to connect planning scholarship and practice to Indigenous lived realities of spatial injustice by deeply exploring the historical and contemporary role planning plays in the dispossession of land, while introducing Indigenous perspectives and understandings of place and the different ways Indigenous communities have resisted and adapted to colonization, and continue to steward their lands and territories. The course will also present alternative approaches to community planning that include insurgent, radical, reflexive, and Indigenous planning frameworks as we discuss what it means to engage in decolonial praxis.

Throughout this course we will explore key themes of settler-colonialism, private property and Indigenous land relations, and co-management and collaborative stewardship, as we dissect issues of power and epistemological privilege across a variety of environmental sectors. We will also explore how Indigenous worldviews inform understandings of place, relational responsibilities to place, and Indigenous place-making.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • To critically examine how planning decisions historically and presently privilege western epistemologies through settler-colonial policy;
  • To introduce and explore alternative epistemologies and understandings of place and learn to engage with this knowledge to inform place-making practices;
  • To reflect upon our positions, roles and values as planning practitioners, and how this informs our approach to community-engaged practice.

Grading

  • Assignments 55%
  • Group Term Project 45%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Selected readings will be made available online through Canvas.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.